Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora

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    Diaspora and cultural heritage: The case of Indians in Canada
    ( 2010-02-01) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar ; Sangha, Dave
    The present paper examines the historical and contemporary context of Indian communities in Canada from a cultural heritage perspective and analyses the processes of migration, settlement and cultural identity. It also examines the challenges of developing museum exhibits which depict the Indian diaspora in Canada. Despite its colourful history and its growing size and prominence in Canadian society, the Indian diaspora has not been the subject of much interest by Canadian museums. While recognising the necessity of working with local communities and thereby reflecting local concerns, it is submitted that any museum exhibit attempting to portray the complex set of experiences of the Indian diaspora in Canada should include some portrayal of the highly marginalised position which the Indian community faced when it first established themselves in the early 1900s. In addition to this historical focus, any attempt to portray the contemporary Indian diaspora needs to portray its growing diversity and its efforts to maintain, and in many cases modify and 'hybridise', cultural practices. Such a display would also have to reflect the influence of transnational forces on the contemporary Indian diaspora. Ultimately, efforts by museums to develop exhibits reflecting the Indian presence in Canada will only further the aims of its widely praised state policy of multiculturalism. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.
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    Diaspora and transnationalism: The changing contours of ethnonational identity of Indian diaspora
    ( 2020-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Shome, Anindita
    Diasporic communities have historically maintained - either actively or passively - their ethnonational identities, be it in the case of classical diasporas such as the Jews or Armenians or the case of more modern diasporas such as the Indians or other South Asians. However, the ethnonational identities of diasporic communities have strengthened significantly in recent times as a result of the global forces such as the Internet that created and recreated the existing and newer ways of transnationalism and ethnonationalism. The study of the Indian diaspora is inherent because of the fact that these global forces have drastically changed the ethnonational identity of Indians in the diaspora. There are a plethora of factors that played an important role in this process of transformation. This article tries to examine two of the most significant factors that strengthened the ethnonational identity, such as the dynamic changes in the Indian government policy towards diaspora and the role of the Internet that facilitates the youth to play a prominent role in this neo-diaspora.
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    Diaspora, religion, and identity: the case of Theyyam in the Indian diaspora
    ( 2022-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Surabhi, K.
    Globalization associated with development in information and communication technologies ushered diasporas to play an important role in marketing the homeland culture globally. Among the many traditional Indian art forms that are getting visible transnationally today is the Theyyam. Theyyam is a traditional ritual art form of worship observed in the Kannur and Kasargod districts of Northern Kerala state in India. It is the folk God for North Malabaris which is accompanied by dance and other rituals. There are approximately four hundred varieties of Theyyams and several of them are performed in the diasporas. This article argues that when the Theyyam is performed transnationally, the true essence of the ritual art form changed compared to its performance in the original settings and thereby opens up for commodification. Ethnographic data for this study derives from in-depth interviews with Theyyam artists, informal conversations with Theyyam devotees and villagers besides observation of Theyyam performances.
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    Diaspora, transnationalism and development
    ( 2015-08-12) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar
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    Editorial
    ( 2009-03-01) Sahoo, Ajaya
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    Emergence, growth and social service activities in the Sathya Sai Baba spiritual movement
    ( 2011-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K.
    The present paper deals with the social and welfare activities of an important spiritual movement in India, Sri Sathya Sai Baba movement, which has attracted thousands of devotees around the world cutting across class, caste, religion, region and ethnic backgrounds besides making its presence within the tradition of Hinduism in India. The spiritual movement has made several contributions to the social upliftment of the disadvantaged in the form of social welfare service activities. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part of the paper reviews briefly the emergence of Sathya Sai Baba movement, while the second part focuses on the growth of Sathya Sai organisation, which is an integral part of the Sathya Sai Baba movement, and the third and final part discusses the way in which the members of the movement engage in social service activities in order to popularise the movement.
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    From 'temporary migrants' to 'permanent residents': Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States
    ( 2010-11-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Sangha, Dave ; Kelly, Melissa
    Literature on international migration from India in the past has focused on the formation and development of 'Indian diasporas'; that is, Indians who have moved to various parts of the world and maintain socio-economic, cultural and political lives in India as well as other countries. However, little attention has been paid toward 'temporary migrants' who have migrated to different countries with a temporary visa and in the course of time extended their visas to become 'permanent residents'. Temporary migration from India has become a common trend over the last two decades, especially since the acceleration of globalisation and the developments in the fields of information and communication technologies. Although it is argued that this type of migration took place in the past - for instance, Indians migrated to British, French, Dutch and Portuguese colonies during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries as indentured labourers for a period of three to five years and later extended their stays - what is new about the current trend is the new state policies of different host countries and the socio-economic and cultural background of the immigrants. This paper is an exploratory study of this contemporary phenomena of movement from 'temporary migrant' to 'permanent resident', a phenomena which has not been given much attention by academicians and policy makers in India. The present paper outlines this trend with an illustration of Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.
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    Hinduism in the diaspora
    ( 2005-03-01) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar
    For Indian immigrants in foreign lands, religion came to be identified with ethnicity and identity. Hinduisms avatars in the diaspora include both the priestly as well as folk varieties, and also, hybrid, syncretic forms that developed in some parts of the world such as the Caribbean. Though sectarianisms have been transplanted too, non-sectarian, universalisée strains, whose antecedents can be traced back to social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Vivekananda and Ramakrishna, have been gaining ground. Ironically, though, by linking Indian community identity with Hindusim, other religious groups like Muslims have come to be alienated.
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    Hinduism in the diaspora: A select bibliography
    ( 2005-03-01) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar
    Hinduism the third largest religion in the world after Christianity and Islam, has been carried far beyond its country of origin by waves of emigrants. In this bibliographical compilation, the major works (such as edited books, articles and monographs) published over the last few years on Hinduism in the diaspora have been listed. Since the sources and disciplines are varied, not all the published materials could be accessed. It is hoped that the compilation will fulfil its objective of providing background knowledge to new scholars as well as academicians pursuing research on Hinduism in the diaspora.
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    Indian diaspora in transnational contexts: Introduction
    ( 2008-02-01) Safran, William ; Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar ; Lal, Brij V.
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    Indian diaspora, 1974-2004-A select bibliography
    ( 2004-12-01) Sahoo, Sadananda ; Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar ; Pradhan, Fakir Mohan
    Over the last one decade, the study of the Indian Diaspora has emerged as a rich area of multidisciplinary research interest. In this bibliographical compilation, we list the major works in the last 25 years. Since the sources and disciplines are varied, we could not access all the published materials. We hope the compilations will fulfill its objective of providing background knowledge to new scholars as well as academicians pursuing research on Indian Diaspora.
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    Indian migrants in Gulf countries \b a sociological study of Telugu migrants
    (University of Hyderabad, 2017-06-01) Trilok Chandan Goud, K ; Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar
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    Indian transnationalism online: New perspectives on diaspora
    ( 2014-05-20) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar ; de Kruijf, Johannes G.
    Present-day migration takes place in a world characterized by the compression of time and space, with cheaper air travel and the existence of new communication technologies - the internet in particular - making it easier to stay in contact with the places, people and cultures that one has left. This book investigates the online organization of, and exchanges within, the global Indian diaspora. Bringing together research from around the world and presenting studies drawn from the US, Europe and India, it engages with theoretical and methodological debates concerning the shaping and transformation of migrant culture in emerging sites of sociality, and explores issues such as religion, citizenship, nationalism, region and caste as they relate to Indian identity in global, transnational contexts. With detailed empirical case studies showing both how members of the Indian diaspora connect with one other and 'life at home' and how institutions in India maintain such links, Indian Transnationalism Online sheds light on the ways in which information and communication technology functions as both a catalyst and indicator of contemporary socio-cultural change. As such it will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and studies of cultural studies working in the areas of migration, transnationalism and ethnic studies. © Ajaya Kumar Sahoo, Johannes G. de Kruijf and the contributors 2014. All rights reserved.
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    Indian transnationalism online: New perspectives on diaspora
    ( 2016-05-23) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar ; De Kruijf, Johannes G.
    Present-day migration takes place in a world characterized by the compression of time and space, with cheaper air travel and the existence of new communication technologies - the internet in particular - making it easier to stay in contact with the places, people and cultures that one has left. This book investigates the online organization of, and exchanges within, the global Indian diaspora. Bringing together research from around the world and presenting studies drawn from the US, Europe and India, it engages with theoretical and methodological debates concerning the shaping and transformation of migrant culture in emerging sites of sociality, and explores issues such as religion, citizenship, nationalism, region and caste as they relate to Indian identity in global, transnational contexts. With detailed empirical case studies showing both how members of the Indian diaspora connect with one other and ‘life at home’ and how institutions in India maintain such links, Indian Transnationalism Online sheds light on the ways in which information and communication technology functions as both a catalyst and indicator of contemporary socio-cultural change. As such it will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and studies of cultural studies working in the areas of migration, transnationalism and ethnic studies.
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    Introduction: Asian diaspora and development
    ( 2021-03-31) Sahoo, Ajaya K.
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    Issues of identity in the Indian Diaspora: A transnational perspective
    ( 2006-03-01) Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar
    India is unique for the magnitude of her diversities in terms of languages and regions, religions and sects, castes and subcastes, rural and urban, food and style of dress, which are also reflected by her diasporic communities. There are diasporic communities formed on the basis of linguistic or regional identities such as Punjabis, Gujaratis, Sindhis, Tamils, Malayalees and Telugus. Global organizations such as Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), World Telugu Federation (WTF), and World Punjabi Organization (WPO), have recently emerged to preserve and promote the identities and cultures of Indians, uniting transnationally India and the global Indian diaspora. The past decade has witnessed a phenomenal dynamism among the diasporic communities, made possible by the recent advancement in technologies of travel, transport, and communications. Not only did these developments bring the diasporic communities and their motherland closer but they also facilitated in bringing together the members of their community dispersed around the world. The present article examines this emerging trend with the illustration of one of the important regional Indian diasporic communities, the Gujarati Diaspora. Gujaratis, the people from the central western parts of India, are one of the early Indian communities who have ventured out to different parts of the world for multiple reasons. Today, as one of the prominent Indian diasporic communities in the world, Gujaratis are successful not only in business, which is their first love, but also in professional fields such as technology, science, medicine, and business management. © Koninklijke Brill NV 2006.